Wheeled support for garbage can or the like



Nov. 15, 1960 J. CENTA, JR

WHEELED SUPPORT FOR GARBAGE CAN OR THE LIKE Filed April 22, 1958INVENTOR.

JOSEPH CENTA, JR.

f. 1 1 W 6 ATTORNEY WHEELED SUPPORT FOR GARBAGE CAN OR THE LIKE JosephCenta, Jr., 5251 Case Ave., Lyndhurst, Ohio Filed Apr. 22, 1958, Ser.No. 730,080 3 Claims. (31. 280-47.26)

This invention relates to a wheeled support for a garbage or ash can.

The present invention is directed to a wheeled support which may bereadily attached to a conventional garbage or ash can to make the canmovable from place to place more easily and without requiring that it belifted off the ground. The only modification of the garbage can itselfthat is required for mounting the present wheeled support thereon is theprovision of four holes in the depending side flange on the can whichextends down below the latters bottom wall. Following this, the supportmay be attached to the can quite readily without requiring anyparticular skill on the part of the assembler. Attachment of the presentwheeled support to a conventional garbage can may be a do-it-yourselfproject well within the ability of the average unskilled homeowner.

It is an object of this invention to provide a novel and improvedwheeled support for a garbage or ash can.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a novel wheeledsupport for a garbage or ash can which is simple and economical inconstruction and which may be readily attached to a conventional can byan unskilled person.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent fromthe following description of a presently preferred embodiment thereof,which is illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a front view of a garbage can having the present wheeledsupport thereon;

Figure 2 is a horizontal section through the Fig. 1 assembly, takenalong the line 2-2 in Fig. 1 just below the bottom wall of the can, andshowing one of the wheels of the support in section;

Figure 3 is a vertical section taken centrally through the Fig. 1assembly along the line 33 in that figure; and

Figure 4 is an enlarged elevational view showing the contiguousdepending legs of the present support and the rubber foot thereon.

Referring to Fig. 1, the wheeled support of the present invention ismounted on a conventional sheet metal garbage can having a flathorizontal bottom wall and an, almost cylindrical side 11 attached to,and completely surrounding the periphery of the bottom wall. The side 11extends up from the bottom wall and flares laterally outward a slightamount toward the top. The side also presents a depending flange 11awhich extends down below the bottom wall 10 a short distance.

The present wheeled support includes a pair of support members in theform of elongated rigid metal rods 12 and 13 which lie flush against theunderside of the bottom wall 10 of the can. At one end the support rodsare positioned contiguous to each other just inside the depending flange11a on the can, as best seen in Fig. 2. From their contiguous ends thesupport rods diverge laterally away from each other and extend outthrough holes 14 and 15 drilled in the depending flange 11a on the canjust below the bottom wall of the can. Thus, the support States Printrods 12, 13 together provide a generally V-shaped reinforcement for thebottom wall of the can.

A short distance outward beyond the respective openings 14 and 15, thesupport rods have integral downturned legs 12a and 13a, which extendvertically down below the level of the bottom edge of the can flange11a. The vertical legs 12a, 13a are joined integrally to laterallyoutwardly projecting horizontal extremities 12b and 1311, respectively,which serve as the axles for the wheels of the support.

As shown in Fig. 2, each Wheel comprises a cylindrical sponge rubberball 16 having a centrally disposed bushing 17 which rotatably receivesthe corresponding axle portion 12b or 13b of the support. A pair ofthrust washers 18 and 19 retain the ball on the bushing. A conventionalhairpin-shaped retainer 20 is received in a hole in the axle portion toretain the wheel on the axle.

The contiguous ends of the support rods 12 and 13 are connectedintegrally to depending contiguous legs 12c and (Fig. 1), which extenddown from the bottom wall of the can flush with the inside of thedepending flange 11a on the can. The depending legs 12c, 13c projectdown below the level of the bottom edge of flange 11a and terminate attheir lower ends in forwardly protruding contiguous, horizontalextremities 12d and 13d.

A U-shaped clamping member threaded on each end, has its bight portion21 extending across the outer face of the depending flange 11a on thecan and has its oppo site legs 22, 23 extending back through openings inthis flange on either side of the contiguous depending legs 12c and 130on the support rods. These openings are spaced a short distance belowthe bottom wall 10 of the can to accommodate the downturned bends in thesupport rods. A thrust plate 24, having openings which receive the legs22 and 23 of the U -shaped member, is positioned behind the dependinglegs 12c and 130 on the support rods. Nuts 25 and 26 are threaded ontothe legs 22 and 23 and clamp the plate 24 tightly against the dependinglegs 12c and 130 on the support rods to retain the same tightly againstthe inside of the depending flange 11a on the can.

A short loop 27 of rubber or the like snugly receives the contiguoushorizontal extremities 12d and 13d. This loop serves as a foot andconstitutes the third support point for the garbage can, the othersupport points being provided by the wheels.

To assemble the present wheeled support on the can, the openings 14, 15and the two openings for the legs 22, 23 of the clamping device aredrilled in the depending flange 11a on the can. With the can inverted,each support rod, with its wheel already in place thereon, is insertedfrom outside the can through the opening 14 or 15. The inner ends of thesupport rods are positioned contiguous to each other, as shown in Fig.2, with their vertical legs 12c and 13c abutting against the inside ofthe flange 11a on the can. Then, the clamp arrangement 2126 is appliedto this flange and to these vertical legs of the support rods to securethe parts in this position, and the rubber foot 27 is placed on theextremities of the contiguous ends of the support rods.

With the wheeled support attached to the can, the can may beconveniently rolled across the ground by lifting up on the single handle28, which is located toward the upper end of the can directly above thefoot 27. The foot 27 is lifted ofi the ground and the can rolls along onthe wheels 16.

In addition to its economical construction and the simplicity of itsassembly on the garbage can, the present invention has the additionaladvantage that the support physically reinforces the bottom wall of thecan. Also, the sponge rubber construction of the wheels makes the caneasy to roll over the ground, as well as deadening shock and noise whenthe can is rolled across an uneven surface, such as a gravel driveway.

It is to be understood that while there has been described herein andillustratedin the accompanying drawing a specific presently preferredembodiment of this invention, various modifications, omissions andrefinements: which depart from the disclosed embodiment may be adoptedwithout departing from the spirit and scope of this invention. Forexample, a different type of wheel may be used, a dilferent type ofclamp for securing the contiguous ends of the support rods to the flangeof the can may be used, and a different type of foot member may be used,or the foot member may be dispensed with entirely.

I claim:

1. A wheeled support for a garbage can having a. bottom wall and adepending side flange which extends down from said bottom wall, saidsupport comprising a pair of elongated rods having horizontal portionsdimensioned to underlie and abut the bottom wall of the can, saidsupport rods at one end of their horizontal portions having integraldown-turned legs constructed and arranged to extend contiguous to oneanother, said downturned legs at their lower ends being joinedintegrally to forwardly projecting horizontal extremities, saidhorizontal portions of the support rods away from said one end diverginglaterally from each other to project through said flange on oppositesides of the can, said horizontal portions at their diverging endshaving integral downturned legs which terminate in horizontal segmentsprojecting laterally outward away from each other, and wheels rotatablymounted on said horizontal segments and comprising substantiallyspherical members of sponge rubber, and a sleeve through each of saidspherical members and constituting a bearing for the correspondinghorizontal segment.

2. The support of claim 1, wherein there is provided a rubber foot whichreceives said horizontal extremities on the support rods.

3. In combination with a garbage can which has a bottom wall and a sideflange extending down below said bottom wall, a wheeled support for saidgarbage can comprising a pair of elongated rods having horizontalportions which underlie the bottom wall of the can, said rods at one endof their horizontal portions having integral downturned legs whichextend contiguous to each other at the inner side of said flange, saiddownturned legs at their lower ends being joined integrally to forwardlyprojecting horizontal extremities which are spaced below the bottom edgeof said flange on the can and which project forward beyond the outsideof the can, fastening means connecting said downturned legs to theflange, a foot member on said extremities below the bottom edge of theflange, said horizontal portions away from said one end diverginglaterally away from each other and pro jecting through said flange onopposite sides of the can, said horizontal portions outside the canhaving integral downturned legs which terminate in horizontal segmentsdisposed below the level of the bottom edge of the flange and whichproject laterally away from each other, and wheels mounted rotatably onsaid horizontal segments and comprising substantially spherical membersof sponge rubber, and a sleeve through each of said spherical membersand constituting a bearing for the corresponding horizontal segment.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS962,148 Jackson June 21, 1910 1,421,110 Thuesen et a1. June 27, 19221,544,356 Spaeth June 30, 1925 1,777,698 Lofstrand Oct. 7, 19302,242,915 Koski May 20, 1941 2,366,229 Aitelli Ian. 2, 1945 2,529,314Schmid Nov. 7, 1950 2,572,486 Isaac Oct, 23, 1951

